Standing Outside The Fire: Part One: Kindling
by Silverwolf70
Summary: All Wheeljack wanted to do was spend the day in his lab, but sometimes fate has other ideas...
1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:** I own Spitfire, Ari, Lee, the crew, and Pix. Transformers are owned by Hasbro. (duh) All songs belong to their respective owners. (another duh) This is a little more serious than my other fics, hope you like it. Also, Ari is NOT a self-insertion, we do have a few things in common, (like our taste in music) but that's it.

**Standing Outside The Fire******

**Part One: Kindling**

By Silverwolf

_You call them cool_

_those hearts that have no scars to show_

_the ones that never do let go_

_and risk the tables being turned..._

**Chapter One**

Ari smiled as she wiped the oil from her cheek. Nothing was going to stand between them and that checkered flag this time! She cleaned her grease-covered hands with an equally grease-covered rag and closed the hood of the sleek red and white stock car. Lee ran in and pulled to a stop just behind her, then snatched the wrench from her back pocket and took off as she whirled and dashed after him. He made a U-turn and dove into the seat of the racer, slammed his helmet on, and started the engine. Ari caught up with him just as he peeled out of the garage, squealing tires and kicking up dust as he went. Ari waved a fist at him and laughed. "I'll get you! And next time I'll rig Spitfire to give you the ride of your life!" She yelled after him, hearing his faint laughter as he rolled onto the track. It was an old game they played, and both knew she would do no such thing. 'Spitfire' was the name they had given the car, a private joke they had about Lee's amazing ability to get into trouble on the track. "Spitfire did it!" Had become a common expression among the crew, especially when someone had made an embarrassing error. Ari shook her head, still smiling, and headed back into the garage.

Meanwhile, not far away, someone else was having speed issues...

"C'mon Wheeljack!" Sideswipe pressed. "You're completely wasting that trans-form of yours! It's just not right!" Wheeljack sighed and tried to tune out the younger bot's pleas. He was busy with his latest invention, a return generational laser cannon, and frankly didn't feel like tearing around the countryside. Now, where did that bolt get to...

"It would make a great experiment...."

THAT got his attention. He paused long enough in his work to regard the red Autobot standing before him. "What do you mean, experiment?" If he could have, he would have raised an eyebrow.

"Haven't you ever considered testing your limits? I'll bet you've never reached your top speed."

Wheeljack considered this, but Sideswipe wasn't finished.

"I know this great track not far from here, it'll be a blast! C'mon Wheeljack..."

"Alright! Alright already! I'll go 'test my limits' as you say, but-" He added, holding up a finger. "I have one condition."

Sideswipe hesitated. "And what might that be?"

The black and white Autobot's face may have been rendered emotionless by his faceplate, but he was obviously grinning.

"I want you and Sunstreaker to promise to stop teasing me about my inventions."

The look of horror on Sideswipe's face was priceless. "You're kidding right?" He stared at the older bot for a moment. "You're not." He said glumly, but sighed and gave in.

A half hour later the two were nearing their destination. Sideswipe had tried to gauge his companion's speed potential, but Wheeljack stubbornly refused to go any faster than the speed limit until they got there. He was only doing it to infuriate the younger bot, and they both knew it. They pulled into the entrance only to find the track was already in use, a red and white stock car with flames across the hood was tearing down the straightaway. "Well," Wheeljack commented. "looks like we won't be conducting any experiments after all." He tried to hide his disappointment, Sideswipe's enthusiasm had been infectious, and he had really wanted to get the chance to speed for reasons other than those involving Decepticons.

"Maybe they'll let us on the track anyway? It can't hurt to ask..."

Had he been in robot mode, Wheeljack would have shrugged. "Go ahead, try to link up with their walkie talkies."

"Gotcha." It took a moment to find the right frequency. "Hey, this is Sideswipe, from the Autobots. Is it okay if we come out on the track for awhile?" There was a pause, then they saw a young red-haired woman standing in the infield pick up her walkie-talkie.

"Lee, if this is another prank I'm gonna roast you!"

Sideswipe laughed. "Nope, we're really Autobots."

"Come on in then," Another pause. "you can use pits five and twelve, just try not to come in at the same time, my crew's a bit short to handle three." She hesitated. "Uhm...no offense but...you _do_ know how to pit right?"

Both bots shrank back in embarrassment.

"Um.... no...." Sideswipe mumbled.

The woman on the other end laughed, but it was a friendly laugh. "That's ok, just pull up onto Pit Road and I'll talk you through it."

Relieved, they both drove out to the infield, where the young woman, they discovered her name was Ari, educated them on how to pull in, pit, and pull out. It was all fairly simple, though Wheeljack felt a little awkward being surround by several humans, all intent on removing and replacing pieces of him. When they pulled out onto the track Ari ran out to the flag stand and climbed up to sit on the platform, walkie-talkie in hand. The other racecar had been informed, via that same walkie-talkie, about the new visitors, though it didn't seem to acknowledge them as they joined it on the track. Sideswipe immediately shot ahead, whooping happily, Wheeljack however, took his time, accelerating slowly, enjoying himself in his own way. Though the taunts his companion constantly gave him were beginning to annoy him. Just then he got a beep on his comm.

"Wheeljack here."

"Hey," It was Ari. "you wanna take the wind out from under your friend there? Literally?"

He chuckled softly, as if afraid Sideswipe might hear.

"What do you have in mind?"

Following Ari's careful instructions, Wheeljack waited until Sideswipe had lapped him, then sped up to tailgate the younger bot.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" Sideswipe yelped as the autobot engineer carefully tapped his back bumper, and the younger bot found himself swerving out of control as his older companion shot past, laughing at his plight.

"Great job!" Ari managed over the walkie-talkie, she was laughing as well. "Now go do it to Lee."

Wheeljack chuckled evilly and tore after the red and white stock car.

After a few laps Ari called him in to pit, and he slowed down as he reached the entrance to Pit Road. He didn't notice that she'd climbed down from the platform and was running across the track towards him. The crew jumped over the wall and surrounded him, changing tires, refueling, and doing a hundred other important tasks. Ari suddenly appeared out of nowhere, slid across his hood to his driver's side, opened the door, and climbed in.

"Hey!" He started to protest, but the crew was already finished and giving him the sign to go. He pulled back onto the track, and Ari settled into the seat and secured her seatbelt.

"Now let me show you how it's _really_ done."

****

With Ari driving, Wheeljack managed to not only get his lap back, but scare the slag out of Sideswipe on at least three separate occasions. He just sat back and took notes as she made fools out of the others. "Heh, you're pretty good at this. You sure you're not a professional?"

She laughed and shifted gears. "Nah, I drive for fun. _Mechanics_ is what I'm good at. You can come by the garage after we've humiliated the guys enough."

He chuckled. "Count me in. I'd swear if you weren't human you'd be a born Autobot!"

She smirked. "Who says I'm not?"

"What?!"

"I'm kidding! I'm kidding!" She amended with a laugh.

"Real cute. Uh oh.."

The 'uh oh' was directed at the jets flying toward them. Ari just sat back and grinned at the dashboard. "Calm down handsome. Those are just stunt jets practicing maneuvers."

He laughed nervously. "Sorry, always gotta be on alert y'know. And what's with the compliments?"

"What compliments?"

"'Handsome'?"

She grinned. "One, because you are. And two, I call everybody handsome, get used to it."

"Anything you say..."****

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	2. Chapter Two

_Authors Note: Here be chapter two! Thanks for the reviews!_

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**Chapter Two**

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"-and this is my lab." Wheeljack said, he was giving Ari a tour of the Ark. He'd offered to let Lee come along as well, but the young driver refused, stating excuses like practice runs and such. Ari, however, was delighted. She tried to see up onto the massive tables piled high with various gadgets, but they were all well over twice her height. Wheeljack noticed her plight and bent down, holding his hand flat before her. "Hop on." She hesitated, then stepped up into his palm, sitting down hard when he began to lift her up. He waited for her to adjust to the new height, then carefully placed her on the table. She looked around curiously, and promptly headed for his latest project. Wheeljack started to stop her, but decided she probably couldn't do any damage by looking at it.

Ari studied the internal workings of the cannon, occasionally muttering to herself. She glanced up at her large companion. "You do realize it's going to blow up right?"

Wheeljack blinked, and shook his head. "No, I rerouted the power source to be re-generational. There's no way it can explode."

The human smiled and wagged a finger at him. She knelt before the device and waved for him to take a closer look.

"You still need to hook it up to a power source. See this?" Ari pointed to a bunch of wires and tubing. "Your input is greater than your output, now, if you fired it alot that wouldn't be a problem, but your refractor that reroutes the left-over laser energy to the main power cell negates that possibility. The energy just keeps building and building-"

"And it blows up." Wheeljack stared dumbly at the mistake he'd made, stunned and somewhat humbled by the fact that a human had discovered it, and not only did she discover it, but then proceeded to fix it right there.

"There ya go." She said, sitting back on her heels. "I set the refractor to reroute the excess energy back into the laser, along with the extra energy from the power cell. That oughta keep it from exploding." She looked up at him, and laughed at his awed expression.

At this he jerked back into the real world and carefully studied what she had done. When he finished he was more impressed than ever. "You not only kept it from exploding, you tripled the laser's strength! It could cut a hole in the Ark's hull with one hit!" Okay, so maybe that was a slight exaggeration, but it was pretty close to the truth! Ari smiled up at him,

"I'm a mechanic remember? I love this kind of stuff."

"Good." Wheeljack announced. "Because I'm going to name this laser after you."

She stared. "What?!"

"I said...I'm going to name this laser after you. How's the 'Ari Cannon' sound?" He picked it up and studied it, his optics smiling.

She made a face. ".....Ari Cannon?"

"Okay, maybe not. What's your last name?" She hesitated, then gave in.

"Manhattan."

"Perfect!" The engineer cried. "The Manhattan Laser! And don't try to talk me out of it either." He warned when she opened her mouth to protest. She closed it again and just stared at him, unsure whether to be amused or flattered. She seemed to decide on a mix between the two.

"You're not going to name everything I help you fix after me are you? I've only got two names you know.."

Weeks later...

"I'm telling you! You need to hook the main circuits to the coolant tank or they'll overheat!" Ari insisted. She had become an almost permanent fixture around the Ark, mostly helping Wheeljack with his creations. There were fewer explosions that way, not to mention the sudden lack of 'accidents'. The two made the perfect team, when one had an idea, both pooled their technical knowledge to figure out how to make it work. Wheeljack had never realized just how much fun it was to bounce ideas off of someone who actually knew what he was talking about! Not only that, but her feedback was useful and imaginative, which in turn fueled his own creative enthusiasm.

"What if we hooked a fan to the main power cell and used that too cool the circuits? Then we could hook the coolant tank up to the barrel and double our firing rate!" he fingered the part he was holding thoughtfully. "We could also rig it with a remote control and cameras so the user could operate it from a distance. It'd be just like playing a video game!"

Ari laughed. "Some game! This thing could shred granite!"

"Yeah! Let's go test it!"


	3. Chapter Three

Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews! The more I get the faster I'll post, so keep 'em coming!

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**Chapter Three**

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Ari came into the lab that morning carrying what looked like a box that reminded him of a smaller, more rounded version of Blaster. Curious, he studied it as he picked her up and placed her on the table, as was the usual routine. At first Ari had balked at the idea of having to ask to be put on the counter, and there was an emergency lift she could use, but now both seemed more comfortable with the simplest route. She strode over to an uncluttered corner and set the box down, then proceeded to fiddle with the various knobs and switches on it's top. Satisfied, she pushed a button and stood. Wheeljack watched all of this with a rather puzzled expression on his face, and she smiled when she sensed his confusion. "Let's just say Jazz isn't the only one with a taste for music." She explained, as the sound of an engine starting and a few lines of guitar music began to emanate from the box.

He groaned. "Not that noise he's always going on about! It's horrible!"

The girl grinned and sighed dramatically. "No, unfortunately he hasn't learned the true value of country music." At this the attitude-filled voice of Aaron Tippin started in. Ari grinned and tapped her foot to the music.

_I'd hook my wagon to my trike and I'd head across the yard..._

The girl sang along silently as she set to work on their latest project. Wheeljack found the music interesting, and caught himself nodding in time to the beat. He forced himself to stop and watched his small friend enjoying herself.

_Big Boy Toys_

_Motors an' lights_

_Knobs an' switches an' a four wheel drive_

_Runnin' up the road, or crawlin' 'cross the farm_

_An' when they break down I jack 'em up in the yard_

_Pull out my tools, my pride and joy_

_Man you gotta love 'em_

_Big Boy Toys..._****

****

He smiled inwardly. "I see why you like this song." She beamed up at him.

"You haven't heard the best part!"****

_Yeah it's boats an' cars, tractors an' trucks_

_Gasoline and diesel fuel a runnin' through my bloooood_

_I like them- Big Boy Toys..._

The music faded, and Ari stood up. She walked over to pause the CD player. Still grinning, the girl turned to her large companion. "Well, handsome? What do you think?"

He considered several possible answers before replying. "It was interesting. The theme definitely fits you."

Her eyes lit up. "Tippin's the greatest! His music is also good for dancing. Wanna try it?" The autobot engineer shook his head.

"No way. I'd be the laughing stock of Cybertron if the others caught me dancing!" He lowered his voice. "Besides, I really can't dance..."

"Oh sure you can! It's easy! And you don't have to worry about stepping on anyone's toes...please?"

Aw slag, not the cute face! "No.." He mumbled, his resolve crumbling, she was just about to convince him when Jazz popped his head in.

"Hi guys! Did my audio receptors deceive me or did I hear music in here?" The girl smiled warmly at him, he was the only Autobot besides Wheeljack that had become friends with her. She was on a friendly basis with most of the others, but Wheeljack and Jazz were the only ones she had any real relationship with.

"Yeah, I was just educating Wheeljack here on the finer points of country music. Namely Aaron Tippin."

The deejay made a sound of disgust. "Why don't you give up on the cowboys and listen to some _real_ music Ari? A girl like you oughta be listenin' to something better than that archaic junk!" Ari glowered at him and put her hands on her hips.

"How would you know? You've probably never even listened to Tippin!" It was the usual banter, both loved music, both hated each other's tastes. The girl stalked back over to the CD Player and pressed a button, then crossed her arms and glared at Jazz with a look that said...well....

_...Why don't you kiss, a kiss this!_

_And I don't mean on my rosy red lips!_

****

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	4. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

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"C'mon! It'll be fun!" Ari pleaded, pulling on his hand as if she could actually make him follow her. He shook his head.

"I...don't know about this.."

"It's just a movie! It won't bite you! Please?" Her eyes got all big and innocent, and he melted.

"Oh, all right..." I swear, he thought to himself, I'm turning into a big softy. And it's all her fault! He transformed and she climbed into the driver's seat.

"You won't regret it! I promise!"

"...I'm regretting it.." Wheeljack grumbled, staring at the drive-in movie screen. Ari sighed from her perch on his shoulder, leaning against his wing.

"Everyone told me it was a great movie!" She told him defensively. '2001: A Space Odyssey' wasn't exactly the best movie she'd ever seen, actually, in both their opinions, it reeked. She did get a kick out of the scene when HAL was being disconnected though..

"Daisy, daisy, give me your answer true,

I'm half crazy, all for the love of you,

It won't be a stylish marriage,

I can't afford a carriage

But you'll look sweet

Upon the seat

Of a bicycle built for two.." She sang along. Wheeljack was certain he'd never heard a more ridiculous song. When he said so, Ari only grinned mischievously and went back to watching the movie.

"Okay...a twenty minute light show....why...?" He asked, staring at the screen as if hypnotized. Ari didn't even turn to look at him.

"I...have no idea.."

"Well...that was...different." Wheeljack managed as the credits rolled. Ari gave him a sidelong glance, and laughed.

"Yeah, 'different' is definitely a good description of the...uh...'thing' we just watched." She grinned and climbed down to his leg, then hopped to the ground and took off. "Be right back!"

A few minutes later she came back, the grin on her face telling him he was not going to like whatever it was she had in mind. She held up one hand, in it, he could see two small slips of paper.

"...you didn't."

"Nah, they aren't playing it twice in a row. I just got tickets to the next movie showing."

"And that would be?"

The grin turned impossibly evil.

"Terminator."

One Week Later...

"Daisy...daisy..."

"Will you stop that?!?!"

Ari stifled a giggle and went back to work. She'd been driving him nuts with what he called 'That Infernal Song' for the past week. After the movie fiasco, they'd both agreed that the lab was where they belonged. Though she still held plans to get him outside every once in awhile. She'd just have to be sneakier..****

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	5. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

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Wheeljack stared down at his friend. Ari grinned and twirled a screwdriver around her fingers, cowboy style, before stuffing it in her hip pocket. She never ceased to amaze him, and seemed to know it. His success rate had skyrocketed the moment she stepped into his lab, but this one, as the humans put it, took the cake.

"You mean to tell me you rigged this whole thing by yourself? Behind my back? _In my own lab?!?!_"

Her grin widened and she nodded. The engineer just shook his head in disbelief. He picked up the device in question and studied it. A beautiful piece of work really, but how on earth had she managed it? It was roughly eight feet long, and shaped like some mythical dragon from a fairy tale. Its armor was a bright burnished red with gold trim, at the moment it hung limp in his hand, but Ari assured him it worked perfectly.

"I think I'll call him Pixal."

Wheeljack gave her a strange look. "You mean Pixel."

"Well, the acronym would be a little screwed up, so how about Pix?"

He nodded absently. "How do you activate it?"

"Him." She corrected. "I gave him a personality chip that I found in your junk pile. He can't talk yet, but we can work on upgrading him later. He's voice activated." Ari pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to him, she had scrawled several words as big as she could to make reading it easy. "Just say this out loud and he'll be programmed to your voice pattern."

The 'bot shrugged and glanced at her after reading the lines to himself. "Why aren't you programming him you _your_ voice?"

She laughed. "'Cause he's yours handsome! Why do you think I built him?"

THAT caught him off guard.

"Mine?! But it must've taken you months to build this!" He exclaimed, indicating the mechanical dragon in his hand.

"Yeah, so? I built him for you." She gave him a lop-sided grin. "Couldn't figure out your birthday, or coming-online day or whatever, so I figured the anniversary of the day we met would have to do." The human hesitated. "You...like him?"

"Like him? LIKE HIM?!?!" Wheeljack cried, making her wince. "He's....amazing, I don't think I could improve on him one bit!"

She tried to appear indifferent to his enthusiasm, but he could tell she was both relieved and overjoyed by his reaction to her gift.

"But," He said, sounding upset. Ari's face fell.

"But what?"

"I don't have anything for you!" He really felt guilty, and she seemed to sense it.

"Aw, that's ok." She told him, patting his leg since it was the only place she could reach. "You don't have to get me anything. Besides," Ari pointed out. "I built him using your materials, so technically he's yours anyway!"

"For some reason I don't feel any better.." He grumbled. Then he had an idea. Ari practically saw the light go on above his head.

"Okay, what are you up to?" She accused, putting her hands on her hips.

"Out!" Wheeljack cried, pushing her toward the door. "Hurry up! Shoo!" He shut and locked the door behind her, leaving a very bewildered Ari standing in the hall.

Several Hours Later....

_...You could set my truck on fire, and roll it down a hill_

_And I still wouldn't trade it for a Coupe Deville_

_I got an eight-foot bed that never has to be made_

_You know if it weren't for trucks they wouldn't have tailgates..._

Ari sang along with the music as she waited outside Wheeljack's lab. She had borrowed a radio from Jazz and set it on her favorite station, now she lost track of time listening to it.

_...Yeah, justice is the one thing you should always find_

_You gotta saddle up your boys, you gotta draw a hard line_

_When the gunsmoke settles we'll sing a victory tune_

_And we'll all meet back at the local saloon_

_We'll raise up our glasses against evil forces singin'_

_Whiskey for my men, and beer for my horses!..._

She didn't even notice when Wheeljack opened the door and came out. He watched her with amusement as she sang along, eyes closed, her foot tapping in time with the beat. Without warning, he scooped her up, scaring the poor girl witless, and carried her back into the lab. Ari had just recovered enough to start scolding him when she noticed what he had brought her in to see. She stared, speechless, at his creation. He set her down on the table and she slowly approached it, eyes wide. "Is it....?"

"Yep, all for you. It's nothing like your dragon but..."

Ari ran a hand down the front of his gift, and hesitantly opened one of the many drawers, inside were several small tools and devices, she picked one up, holding it as if it were made of solid gold.

"If you were human, big guy," She said seriously. "I'd kiss you."

Wheeljack chuckled softly at that. The young woman studied the tool in her hand and frowned thoughtfully.

"What?" He asked, hoping something hadn't gone wrong with his surprise. He stepped closer to see what she was staring at. She held it up to him. "Look."

"What?" The engineer saw nothing wrong, he leaned over to peer at the tool...

Ari leapt up and planted a kiss on his faceplate.

Wheeljack sputtered in surprise and jumped back, the girl only smiled and continued marveling over his gift.

"What was that for?!" He demanded, unsure whether to laugh or glare.

She glanced up at him, and went back to studying the tool. "Just saying 'thankyou'..."

He sighed. "Ookay... So," The engineer began, trying to change the subject. "how do I activate him?" He picked up the mechanical dragon, it was small by his standards, quite large by hers. Ari reluctantly put away the tool and looked up at him.

"Just press the spot under his jaw and say the words I gave you."

The 'bot picked up the paper again and studied it. "You really don't expect me to say this..."

She shrugged, trying not to grin. "You gotta if you want him to work."

"I can't believe you programmed him like this just to make me do it...but here goes.." He took a deep breath. "Daisy, daisy, give me your answer true, I'm half crazy all for the love of you, it won't be a stylish marriage, I can't afford a carriage, but you'll look sweet, upon the seat, of a bicycle built for two..."

Ari grinned widely and clapped, he shot her a look, but was too busy watching the dragon to give her his full attention. The creature's golden optics lit up, it flexed metal-plated wings and turned its head to look up at him.

"Eep?"

"...I thought you said it couldn't talk." Wheeljack commented as he stared at the dragon in his hand. It chirped again.

"He can't, but I had to make him capable of _some_ sort of noise. Otherwise he could get lost or trapped somewhere and we'd never find him!"

"Eep!" Pix confirmed, and flew up to perch on his shoulder. He turned his head to study it.

"I guess this means he likes me?"

"Eep!"

****


	6. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six**

Ari clenched her fists and gritted her teeth as she paced the floor inside Wheeljack's lab. The source of her agitation came from the loud laser blasts and various explosions that could be heard outside. She reached the wall, turned on her heel, and stalked back the way she'd come. Pix watched her from his perch on one of the tables.

"Eep?"

The girl jumped in surprise and looked up at the lab's only other occupant. He chirped again.

"I'm just worried about Wheeljack...I wish I knew what was going on out there!" Wheeljack had given her express orders to stay in the lab, citing several grisly deaths to her, and threats to inflict them himself if she disobeyed him being the most prominent among them. She sighed as she reached the opposite wall and leaned against it. "There's got to be _something _I can do..."

Meanwhile, outside...

Wheeljack dove behind a rock and crouched there as laser fire rained down around him. He leaned around the side of the boulder and squeezed off a few shots before retreating again. Optimus Prime, as usual, was going one-on-one with Megatron, Ironhide and Brawn were teamed up against Soundwave, while Jazz, Hound, and Sideswipe went after Reflector. He couldn't see the others, but was pretty sure they were just as busy. Thundercracker roared by overhead and spun to take aim at him, making the rock he had used as a refuge become a rather handy firing wall. He scrambled around it just in time to avoid the seeker's missiles. The concussion from the blast caused him to nearly lose his balance. Just then he heard a loud hiss, and looked up in time to see Pix dive-bomb the blue seeker. Thundercracker, taken by surprise, ended up with several deep scratches across his nosecone. The miniature dragon glided down to perch on his shoulder. It looked him in the optics and chirped.

"I thought I told you to guard Ari." The Autobot engineer remarked, somewhat annoyed. Pix opened his mouth..

"You told him to guard me?!?!"

"WHAT THE-!" He cried, jumping back at the sound of Ari's voice coming from his pet's throat. Pix stared at him curiously and chirped again. Wheeljack eyed the dragon warily. "What was that?!" He demanded. The dragon cocked its head and opened its mouth again.

"It's me, Ari. I'm using your computer to see and talk through Pix." There was a moment's hesitation, then she blurted. "Are you all right?!"

He couldn't help being amused by her concern. "I'm still in once piece Ari, just stay in the lab like I told you to."

"But-"

"No."

"But-"

"I said no."

He could practically see her stamp her foot in frustration. "I can't just sit here while you get yourself blown up!!"

"Why not? You were perfectly willing to let me handle those explosives yesterday....hold on..." The engineer ducked as laser fire peppered the boulder he was hiding behind, and returned fire. When things had quieted down... meaning he wasn't currently fearing for his life...he turned back to the dragon.

"And what happened when I let you handle those explosives?" Ari was saying. "You blew yourself up! It took me and Ratchet three hours just to find all the pieces!"

"...That's not the point Ari..."

"Then enlighten me."

He sighed "You can't do anything out here except get yourself killed. And if you get yourself killed, I'll kill you! Got it?"

She laughed softly over the comm. "Very cute. But how about repairs? Ratchet's been teaching me about transformer medicine...I could-"

"Hold it! One: No, you can't go play medic. Two: When did you start taking lessons from Ratchet?!" More laser fire came his way, and he launched a missile in what he guessed was the direction of its source. The loud screams and cursings a moment later told him he'd guessed correctly. Pix leapt from his shoulder to attack another flyer, returning with a rather smug look on his face. Wheeljack gave it a suspicious look before continuing. "And three: Why does Pix have weapons?!"

He could almost hear her roll her eyes. "Why not, two weeks ago, and 'cause I got bored. Anything else you'd like to know?" Pix suddenly jerked his head up to peer behind the mech. He opened his mouth and a long stream of flame engulfed Ravage, who had been sneaking up on them. The decepticon cassette snarled in pain and ran away.

"Yes, when were you going to tell me my pet dragon had a flame-thrower?"

"Oh, I was just going to let you figure that out by yourself..."

"Thanks." He grumbled, rubbing the side of his head where Pix's newest surprise had singed it.

"No problem."

"Hand me the welder." Ari ordered from halfway inside Ironhide's chest cavity. She, Ratchet, and Wheeljack were quite busy dealing with the injuries resulting from the battle. Jazz handed her the tool she requested and she managed to wriggle even farther inside to fix a disconnected fuel line. He looked up at Ironhide, who had a rather interesting expression on his face.

"How ya feelin'?"

Ironhide grunted. "Ya trah havin' a human crawlin' ahround inside ya and ya wouldn't be askin'." He winced as Ari pulled herself out of his internals and sealed his armor back up.

"Better than running around with a leaking fuel line!"

He chuckled and sat up. "Ya got that right missy. Thankya fer the fixup."

She beamed at him. "No problem big guy. Who's next?"

Jazz winced. "That'd be Sunstreaker..."

Ari just grinned. "Well, bring him in!"

"I can't believe it.." Ratchet commented, staring. Wheeljack just nodded. "She actually repaired Sunstreaker....and he didn't complain about his _paint?!"_

Jazz grinned and shrugged. "He claims she didn't leave a scratch. Guess that was good enough for him."

"I don't believe it. I just don't believe it!" Ratchet shook his head and saw Ari walking towards them. He waved her down. "All right, spill. How'd you do it?"

She smiled up at him innocently. "Why whatever do you mean?"

"You know what I mean! What did you do to Sunstreaker? Rewire him?"

The human grinned and pulled a small cardboard box out of her pocket. Upon opening it, they saw it was filled with various-colored tiny cylinders. "Crayons. Just find one that matches and color in the scratch. A little buffing and..."

They stared at her a moment, then burst out laughing.

"Crayons?! Oh boy, Sunstreaker's gonna have a FIT when he finds out!"

"Are you kidding? He'll blow a gasket!"

She gave them a sidelong glance. "He's doesn't have to know, y'know.."

That set them off on another round of laughter.


	7. Chapter Seven

_Last chapter for this one, I'm working on the next but my laptop died so it might take awhile! Sorry this one took so long...my computer is old and stupid and was giving me fits. Thanks for the reviews!_**  
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**Chapter Seven**

"Eep?"

Wheeljack sighed. "No, she's not coming today. Lee's been in an accident remember?"

"Eeeep..."

"Yeah, I miss her too...but she'll be back soon." The engineer said, more to himself than to his pet. He hadn't realized how quiet his lab was without her there. Her energy and enthusiasm had given the place new life....and now it was so quiet he couldn't think, as strange as that sounded. He mentally slapped himself. _What has gotten into you?! You should be happy to finally have some time to yourself!_ Still, maybe he should check on her... _No, she's a big girl, she can take care of herself._

How he wished he believed that...

At the hospital...

Lee grumbled angrily at the bandage on his leg. "Of all the stupid injuries...why? What did I do to deserve this?"

"Drive recklessly most likely." Ari answered for it as she stepped through the door. "How's the leg?"

"'How's the leg?' she asks, not 'How's the driver?' or 'How's my best friend who I've dumped for an overgrown toasteroven?' Nooo.."

She laughed and walked over to ruffle his hair. "Yep, you're okay. You're skull's too thick for something as puny as a concrete wall to take you out of commission." He gave her a half-smile.

"Concrete? I laugh at the thought that mere concrete could do such a thing! Hah!"

"Hah indeed Oh Impervious One. So, I take it Spitfire didn't survive?"

The driver sighed. "Nope, she's in surgery still. It'll take weeks for her to recover from _that_ one."

"'Surgery'? Real cute. I supposed that means this surgeon is needed in the O.R.?"

He nodded, and she gave him a quick hug before heading back out. "Don't worry, she'll pull through. She couldn't survive around you if she weren't tougher than that poor concrete!" She added over her shoulder, hearing his laughter follow after her.

The crew was delighted by her return, and returned to work with a new spirit. The car was in horrible shape, it's entire back end needed replacing, along with the scraped and dented side panels. Miraculously, nothing seemed wrong with the engine or any other internal workings. Ari's time around the Autobots had honed her skills to near perfection, and she found repairing the damaged vehicle almost easy. Even so, it took most of the day before it started to look more or less like a racecar again. By nightfall they had made some real progress, and although her mind wanted to keep working, her body told her otherwise. She managed to hitch a ride with one of the crewmembers, seeing as she had no vehicle of her own. He dropped her off a few blocks from her apartment and she began the short walk home.

Ari ducked her head and walked faster. More likely than not the man behind her was merely heading the same direction she was, but something bugged her about his presence. He was big, big enough to overpower her easily, and she was by no means a weakling. She knew she was probably just being paranoid, and would realize how silly she was acting once she got home. Muggings were rare on this side of town, though not impossible. She turned at the corner. Two more blocks to go.

And still he followed...


End file.
